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Planting delayed for Wisconsin no-till farmer

A no-till farmer in southwest Wisconsin says conditions are not suitable to begin planting corn.

Jim Birchman of Fennimore says although some planting is occurring in his area, he needs to wait a little longer.

“For me being in no-till, I like the soils to get just a little bit warmer than what they’d be in conventional tillage.  And (the soils) are a little bit slower to dry out.”

He tells Brownfield the slower spring has allowed him to focus on other areas, including his winter wheat crop.

“I’ve been spraying the wheat and putting out nitrogen and getting the fertilizer done.  I intend on starting (corn planting) this weekend if the weather conditions are good.”

Birchman says the wheat is in excellent shape, and in between corn planting he’ll be making additional herbicide and fungicide passes on those acres.